Crystelle’s ‘Kiwi Lime Pie’ Pavlova

Method

Step 1
Heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/300°F/Gas 2. Using the cake tin or plate to help you, draw a 23cm circle on the baking paper on one of the baking sheets. Turn the paper over, so the pencil outline is underneath.

Step 2
Make the meringue. Tip the egg whites and cream of tartar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk. Whisk on medium speed for 3–5 minutes, until they form soft peaks.

Step 3
With the mixer speed still on medium, add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to maximum and whisk for 10–15 minutes, until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Step 4
Mix the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla in a cup until smooth, then whisk the mixture into the bowl.

Step 5
Spoon the meringue into the large piping bag fitted with the large, round nozzle and twist to seal.

Step 6
Using the pencil outline as a guide, pipe a meringue disc on the lined baking sheet with the drawn circle. Then, pipe two rings of meringue blobs, one around the outside of the disc and one just inside that, in concentric circles.

Step 7
Bake the meringue for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 140°C/120°C fan/275°F/Gas 1 and bake for a further 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove the meringue from the oven and leave it to cool completely.

Step 8
Make the lime curd. Whisk together the lime juice and zest, eggs, caster sugar and cornflour in a heavy-based saucepan. Place over a low heat and whisk until it has thickened and coats the back of a spoon (about 7–10 minutes). Remove from the heat.

Step 9
Meanwhile, place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of water and leave them for 5 minutes to soften, then remove them from the water and squeeze out any excess.

Step 10
Whisk the gelatine into the curd until completely dissolved. Then, whisk in the butter. Pour the curd through a sieve into a clean bowl to remove the zest, then leave to cool before transferring the smooth curd to the medium piping bag fitted with a medium round nozzle. Twist the end to seal and set aside.

Step 11
Make the coconut crumble. Blitz the coconut oil, butter and flour in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add both sugars and the desiccated coconut and pulse to combine. Tip the crumble into a heavy-based saucepan set over a medium heat, and stir until the crumble is golden brown. Remove the crumble from the heat and leave to cool.

Step 12
Make the coconut brittle. Heat the sugar, glucose and 1 tablespoon of water in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat, gently swirling the pan from time to time (but don’t stir), until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and heat the syrup until it turns an amber colour.

Step 13
Scatter the coconut flakes evenly over the second lined baking sheet and pour the caramel over the flakes. Sprinkle with sea-salt and leave until hardened, then break the brittle up into shards. Set aside.

Step 14
Make the coconut whipped cream. Using an electric hand whisk, whisk the cream to soft peaks. Quickly whisk in the desiccated coconut to incorporate, then spoon the flavoured cream into the piping bag fitted with a large open star nozzle and twist the end to seal. Set aside.

Step 15
Slice one of the kiwis lengthways and then into semi circles. Shape the pieces into a rose. Slice the remaining kiwis into discs about 3mm thick.

Step 16
Assemble the pavlova. Scatter a spoonful of the crumble in the centre of the pavlova. Pipe blobs of curd around the inside of the meringue circle. Working inwards, arrange a ring of kiwi slices around the inside of the curd. Pipe a ring of coconut cream kisses around the inside of the kiwi slices, and, using a palette knife to transfer it carefully, place the kiwi rose in the centre. Sprinkle the remaining crumble all over and place the coconut brittle shards into the cream ring around the rose.